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" There are a lot of great recording artists, like Jack White and Jack Johnson, who stay confined inside a very small box, but I'm more like Bon Iver, who recorded an album with programmed drums, and the next record was totally organic. I get that. "

Mat Kearney

Small

White

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" Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, there was everything from The Notorious B.I.G. to Weezer playing in my car. "

Mat Kearney

Car

Growing

" It's silly to throw things out or label things. You know, is U2 a Christian band, or was Johnny Cash a Christian country singer? I don't know, but they're pretty open about their faith. "

" I started writing music in a season of my life where people were telling me I wasn't defined by mistakes, and God really loved me and was fighting for me, and there was a journey to be had with that. And I don't know of a more important message. "

" My first album was hip-hop influenced, and my second was more of a singer-songwriter album. "

Mat Kearney

First

Second

" Somehow, my music really suits doctors making out in the syringe room. "

" I love what I do. I love playing music. "

" I love to play the songs that got me to where I am. I like to take a little bit from all of my records and mix it up. "

" When I was in college, I wanted to study film. My first passion was to be a cinematographer. So maybe there's something innate in my music where it partners well with images. "

" I'm painfully a realist but ruthlessly an optimist. I think maybe it's because of my faith - I've always got the hope that there is something out there to make it all worthwhile. "

" I enjoy changing; I think it's more fun to try something different than to just do what you did last time. As an artist, you just want to keep creating, keep finding a place that really inspires you that feels fresh and new, and keep it exciting. "

" I was an English major in college, so I really liked spoken word and poetry; it was what I did before I wrote music. "

" The first album was literally the first 12 songs I've ever written. "

" I never got too specialized but did like the Southern Gothic writers like William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. "

" You go to a Springsteen show, and half of the people are there to party and forget about their cares, and they're being drawn to this visceral experience. And then the other half, you know, has lived and died with his 'Nebraska' album and considers him one of the greatest poets. "

Mat Kearney

You

Experience

" I grew up in Oregon, so there was always a lot of that folksy, Bob Marley stuff. There was a mural of Bob Marley on a wall at my high school. "

" From my experience, I've been honest about who I am and what I believe and the motivation behind my music. But I've played it in arenas that are for all people. I've pretty much stuck to that model my whole career. "

" Money definitely does not equal success in recording. "

" Being from Oregon, it's part of who I am. "

" The first record blew up and sold really well. 'City of Black & White' didn't sell as well, and that's when you wonder, 'Did I peak already?' "

" I don't know how much I'm connected to the hip-hop scene, but I definitely lend from that urgency. "

" I think I have always made really beat-driven pop-rock records. "

" The problem in this country is people gravitate toward one genre, and that's what they embrace. I don't understand that. If you hit me with Bell Biv Devoe meets country, well, I like the sound of that concept. "

" It's been awesome going indie. I don't need to be on a major label. I love not having to walk into a specific radio person's office to try to convince someone to play my songs. At the end of the day, it's more work, but I've discovered that I like to get my hands dirty. "

" God found me when I was at my lowest point. That was the first time in my life when I really felt like I understood who Jesus was - it was more than just knowing about Him: I felt like He met me in that time and place. "

Mat Kearney

Time

My Life

" I thought my second record was good, but it didn't have that smash hit we did on the first one that somehow found its way onto tons of formats of radio stations. "

" Golf was big in my family. "

" I think, in a lot of ways, hip-hop is interesting to me because it's like the modern-day folk music. "

Mat Kearney

Music

Interesting

" Hopefully, reading and being around great literature inspires me to write songs, but I'm not sure about that. "

Mat Kearney

Write

Literature

" I've never been one to learn scales and do exercises. Maybe I'm lazy, but I just don't take to that kind of thing. Learning other people's songs is enjoyable, and my fingers tend to go to new places because I'm not playing my music, the stuff that comes naturally to me. "